Pajiba tend to report on stories very early, via their mysterious insider, The Hollywood Cog, and so much of what they report doesn’t get off the starting blocks, but their latest news suggests Tom Hanks is developing a film called The Comedy Store.
Based on William Knoedelseder’s book I’m Dying Up Here: Heartbreak and High Times in Stand-up Comedy’s Golden Era, it’s a biopic on Mitzi Shore (Pauly Shore’s mum), and chronicles the time in the 1970s when the likes of Chevy Chase, Jay Leno, Jim Belushi and Richard Pryor were shaking up comedy.
The film will follow Shore, who co-founded LA’s Comedy Store in the late 70s. The venue helped launch the careers of all manner of top flight comics, and is seen as an essential stamping ground for anyone looking to make the leap from the clubs to the screen, playing host to everyone from Eddie Murphy to Jim Carrey in their early days. However at first Shore refused to pay comics for their performances, seeing her club as something of a training ground and showcase. While she made loads of cash, many of the aspiring medians were fast going bankrupt, until things came to a head and the performers went on strike, which even led to one former Comedy Store performer killing himself.
There certainly seems there’s plenty of interesting material for a movie, with Shore a rather interesting figure who’s at once villain and hero. The project is said to still be in the early stages. with Hank’s production company, Playtone, currently looking for a writer. There’s no news on whether Tom will star, although he may be looking for a way to brush up on his stand-up skills following the failure of his 1988 flick, Punchline.